Whittier was our last stop on our tour around the Kenai Peninsula. Everything we read said to be tolerant of the persistent rain in the Kenai Peninsula. Just do what you want to do in the rain (probably like Seattle, WA). But, we so fortunate. It rained the day we drove from Anchorage to Hope, the first town in northern Kenai, then it stayed rain free through our time in Homer, Seward, and Whittier. Yippee! It did not start raining again until the day we left Whittier, driving back north to the interior of Alaska.
Upon arriving and setting up at the Forest Service Williwaw Campground just outside of Whittier, we drove a short distance to a trailhead to hike to Bryon Glacier. Dave decided to stay and relax in the quiet, wooded campground. The hike was an easy 2-mile round trip hike to the base of the glacier, with rugged mountains in all directions. Greg, Helen, Murphy and I hiked through an alder and cottonwood forest alongside the cascading, whitewater, glacier-fed Byron Creek. Just beautiful! Murphy kept stopping along at openings to the creek wanting to go for a swim. Patience Murphy, we would tell him. Upon arriving at the end of the trail, there were snowfields to walk on and Murphy had great fun, even getting the zoomies in the cold snow, plus wading in the creek. A great first day in our Whittier stop.
Whittier is a very small coastal town on Prince William Sound, with a 2020 population of 272. Until 2020, people could visit Whittier by plane, train, or boat, but not by car, until they opened the 2 ½ mile long train tunnel built through the mountain to cars. Each hour, on the hour, you can drive through the tunnel heading from Whittier west. Each hour on the half hour, you can drive through the tunnel heading east toward Whittier. There is a fare charged heading east; for a single car/truck, the fare was $13.00.
Besides the sayings “the weather is shittier in Whittier” or “it is prettier in Whittier,” the town’s nickname is “the town under one roof.” Almost the entire town lives in the Begich Towers Condominium, completed in 1957, with 14 floors, 196 apartments, and public facilities, such as the post office and a general store. The adjacent school is connected via a tunnel to help children get to school in the winter. Quite a cool concept for a town limited on land, as the mountains come very close to the harbor.
The next day we planned to hike the Portage Pass Trail to see the Portage Glacier. The trailhead was right after you drive through the train tunnel into Whittier. The five of us left the campground in time to catch the 9:30 a.m. eastbound tunnel opening and parked at the trailhead for the Portage Pass. This area use to be covered by glaciers and they would “portage” or bring goods and people across the glaciers to the other side of the mountains; hence its name “Portage Valley”.
The 5-mile out and back hike started with a steep 1-mile climb along an old military roadbed, then a few ups and mostly downs to the glacier fed lake (where the glacier use to be), which was the turn-around point. Murphy found a tarn (a small mountain lake) to swim in at the top of the pass and Dave, Greg, and Helen hiked further up to an overlook before we all headed down to the lake. The weather was perfect, in the low 60’s, with the sun peaking out between the clouds. The weather was definitely not shittier in Whittier that day – although Whittier is known to have the 2nd highest annual precipitation in Alaska. We continue to be blessed with great weather on this trip.
Speaking of this trip, the day we were in Whittier (August 5th) marks the halfway point between when Dave and I met up with Greg & Helen in New Ulm, Minnesota and our planned last day together in Utah (end of October). Our trip should total 167 days and August 5th was our 84th traveling day together. We had a late lunch after the hike and toasted our good fortunes on this epic adventure. Cheers!
After lunch, we walked along the boardwalk at the marina and stopped at what we thought was an ice cream parlor. Well, they did have ice cream and milkshakes, as well as sandwiches and merchandise to sell, but guess what else they had? Not another cinnamon roll you say? Yep, cinnamon rolls in an ice cream shop. I am not sure after our blah cinnamon roll in Seward I was ready for another one. However, it did look quite good and I saw a pan of freshly baked ones on the counter. Greg did not seem to keen on trying another one, but I bought one anyway and shared ½ with he and Helen to taste. Dave and I tried it when we got home and both liked it, it had lots of cinnamon throughout and a good amount of frosting. It will not rise to the top as the best, but it will be a contender somewhere in the middle of the pack. At least that was my rating, now I need to see what Greg thinks. (I forgot to take a picture of the cinnamon roll before Dave and I devoured it (sorry, stock photo below).
Speaking of sweet treats, it has been quite awhile since we had a S’mores variation. We were finally in a campground that was conducive to a fire, so the night after our hike to Byron Glacier, Dave lit a campfire and we tried our next variation. For those that know me, you might know I love chocolate banana anything. My mom would treat me to a chocolate cake with banana filling from Dick’s Bakery in San Jose for my birthday. I also love Chocolate Banana Martini’s or Chocolate Banana Bread. So, why not Chocolate Banana S’mores? I stumbled on banana marshmallows somewhere in Canada and have been wanting to try them. Helen and I both liked them, Greg wasn’t a fan, and Dave, well, let’s just say Dave didn’t try one and kept up with the tried-and-true plain marshmallow S’more. Boring!
We are now headed back toward Canada, but first stopping at an RV park near a glacier for another adventure. This one requires special footwear. Oh boy!
Loving the gorgeous hikes to glaciers Brenda, So many glaciers Dave, that glacier water is “refreshing” Murphy
Your tour should be the Great Cinnamon Bun Tasting… you crack me up!!! But glad to hear you’re in the Prettier in Whittier camp, so to speak… now I’m cracking myself up! Good times, no doubt.
You are so funny! Laughing along with you.
D & B, you guys are doing it right!
Anytime you and Mr Murphy can play on the ice in shirt sleeves it must be a good day!
As I sit here in 95 deg humid Florida, I have to ask why are they so smart ?
Duhhh!
Enjoy!
Congrats on your half-way mark! We are really enjoying riding along with you, the pics are fun and spectacular and I’m always up for a cinnamon roll.
Gail
1/2 way through this wonderful adventure! I can only imagine all the sights you’ve yet to see.